Chapter 878

 878:
Tears threatened to spill, sorrow rising as the reality of Zander’s missing mother and sister crashed over him. Despite himself, he found a flicker of comfort in the presence of this stranger—this man who claimed to be his father.
His tone stayed stubborn, but the walls around his heart were beginning to crack.
“I don’t know where they went,” Zander muttered, his voice barely steady. “Mommy got mad because I ran away. Now she doesn’t want me anymore.”
Collin’s breath caught as he watched Zander begin to cry. Without hesitation, he reached out and gently smoothed a hand over Zander’s head.
“That’s not true. Your mom would never leave you by choice. She loves you way too much for that. Something must’ve happened—something she couldn’t avoid.”
Thoughts swirled through his mind; he tried to make sense of it all. From what he knew of Linsey, she would never abandon her kids unless the situation left her no other option. Whatever made her run—it had to be serious.
Sniffling, Zander suddenly brightened with a spark of realization. He raised his wrist and quickly tapped the screen of his smartwatch.
“I’ll call Mommy,” he said, breath hitching. “I should have answered earlier. She tried to reach me, and I didn’t pick up. It’s my fault. I was being bad. I need to say sorry to Mommy.”
Collin’s eyes drifted to the smartwatch on Zander’s wrist. He couldn’t shake the thought of the boy sneaking off earlier that morning—probably to make a secret call.
“Did you manage to speak with your mom today?” he asked gently.
M𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓊𝓅𝒹𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝑔𝒶𝓁𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈.𝒸𝑜𝓂
A small shake of the head came from Zander. “I only talked to my sister for a second.”
Without another word, Zander lowered his gaze and tapped in Linsey’s number. The smartwatch let out a long string of beeps, yet no one answered. His lips trembled. The call disconnected without a response, and he hurried to dial again, clinging to hope.
Yet, no one picked up.
“She’s not answering,” he whispered, voice cracking. “Mommy’s mad. She doesn’t want to talk to me…”
Tears pooled in his eyes, and regret hit him like a wave. At that moment, he found himself wishing he could rewind time to that morning. Had he known Mommy would be this upset, he never would have snuck out.
Desperate to hear from someone, Zander tried a new approach. “I’ll try my sister,” he muttered, dialing Zenia’s number.
But that line stayed quiet, too. Even the messages he sent went unanswered.
One tear spilled over and landed on the screen, blurring the digital clock beneath it. A shaky breath left his lips, followed by a broken sob.
“They’re ignoring me. Mommy and my sister—they’re not talking to me anymore…”
Confusion settled into Collin’s brow. Something didn’t feel right. He didn’t believe for a second that Linsey would ignore her son on purpose. Even if she was angry, this wasn’t like her.
.
.
.